Peggy - Completed.

Peggy is done,.. here are a few pictures of the final stages.
Another great learning experience with little to no experimentation or practice. By that I mean that I usually will try certain techniques on scrap sketch pads to see how they feel or how I can make the final look I want (like furry ears or a wet nose). Layering, shading, smugging and other tricks come into play, then I select the best option,.. but with this one, I simply worked on the drawing (just felt right).

Almost done here,... (there are always last minute tweaks)


Here is a detail of her face, (I like the eyes).

I am pleased with most of the drawing, the head in particular but the body not as much. The texture of the paper is too course for what I wanted to accomplish, but all in all when you stand back and look at the entire drawing,.. I guess it is not bad and you get some sense of what she was feeling.


Finally,... done! (maybe)


In the end I added a scarf (seen below her right ear), because she always had that red scarf/bandana on, even though you could not see it in the photograph. Now all I need to do is seal it and send it. I will have to request the help of my brother and sister in law for the frame since I am not sure what color to go with.

My usual tools were an HB, 2B, 6B and 8B, (most the 1st and last) a kneaded eraser, clic eraser (with a bevel cut) and some tortillons (for the near black areas). The dimensions are 11" x 14" on 70lbs acid free heavyweight paper.

Peggy was a wonderful dog and much more than a pet for my parents. I know she is missed and I hope this drawing is good enough to be shown in their home.

Peggy (wip) -- continued

My drawing of Peggy is coming along nicely.



I am actually proud of this one so far.


Not perfect when compared with the photograph, but I believe when I am done it will be better. As usual it will never be perfect and eventually it will hopefully be good enough to be gifted to my Dad.

Stonehenge - completed

Here is my completed work of Stonehenge.

First the photograph by Frédéric Vincent (Merci monsieur), which I used,...


,.. and then my graphite version.


I am pleased with this one. Although I will be the first to admit it was as easy as it looked. Just plenty of shadows and shade. The clouds could use some more detailing but I decided it was good enough. As I mentioned this was an ego piece, but still lots of fun and in reality we need to do something for ourselves every now and then.

Pencils used were an HB, 2H, 6H and conte 555 as well as my usual assortment of erasers and tortillons for the clouds and grass.

Stonehenge (wip) ...continued

It is a good experience but turning out to be more for my ego than a real learning experience. However I did learn that when drawing rocks, stones or rough terrain - the paper you use can be very important. I used a slightly course paper and it was helpful. It was all done with an HB pencil which I had let the lead out and worn down to a beveled edge. Other than that I erased (shadows) and smudged a little with my fingers (clouds).


I suspect I will have to use darker graphite to complete the ground and bring out the clouds,.. I might even add depth to the darker shadows.


In the close up below you can more easily see how the texture of the paper helped establish the texture of the stones.



I am still working on "Miss You All" but my next project will be entitled "Peggy".
Fathers Day is coming up and I thought I might draw my parents golden retriever (Peggy) whom they lost to old age earlier this year. She was a beaut.

I hope to post my start of "Peggy", an update of "MYA" and the completion of "Stonehenge" soon.

Stonehenge (wip)

Last week I was sadly kept away from the drawing board,.. need to do what needs to be done to pay the bills some times. Meanwhile I kept drawing "Miss You All" in my head and noticed that I was struggling with shadows,.. actually to be precise it was the conversion of multiple colors to scaled grays that was difficult.



I remembered this photograph of Stonehenge (by Frédéric Vincent) with all the shadows on gray stone and thought it might help me attain a better skill set for shadows and then I can work on the conversion of colors to grays. I will grant you that it is a rather dull picture with no feel of activity - BUT it is Stonehenge and has a magical sense of its own.

Here is what I have so far,..



Thus far I have only used an HB pencil and will no doubt use many more shades before it is completed. Matter a fact, since it is a test project and learning peice I might work on it until I over-work it,.. but that is when you learn the most.



stay tuned for more,...

Dragonfly (from wip to Done)

Last weekend my dear wife suggested I try to draw a dragonfly for a friend of hers. I was instantaneously intrigued. The insect eyes, the translucent wings, the bulbous body, the vibrant colors,.. oops, ok, no color,.. but maybe I could relate color with shades of graphite gray.

Well, (as excited as I was) I drew it in almost one sitting. Followed by a week of updating and tweaking it for myself. I received some amazing advice/recommendations from fellow pencil brethren and sisters from Artpapa and once applied, they were well worth the effort (at least I believe so).

Here is the beginning (7am),..


... middle (11am),..


... and end (4pm),...


... and finally a week later the completed work.


Now the technical talk:
The dimensions of the final project are 12"x9" on 65lb acid free paper. It was suggested I try a less coarse/rough bound paper for highly detailed projects as this one (especially when it is a potential gift), a smoother paper might have been easier to work said details in with as well (mental check on that one and thank you Imweil). Tools used were an HB, 2B, 6B, kneaded and stick eraser as well as a small and medium tortillon.

I am still not entirely pleased with it (I never am), but I get the effect of realism I was trying for and hope it is pleasing to the eye. Maybe once framed it will seem better, but for now I think I will let it be and move on.